Ground Woodpecker

Geocolaptes olivaceus

Rocks. Rump red; below streaked red on buff. Pale eyes, grey head.

Woodpeckers

Endemic

Description

Common endemic resident. Easily recognised by large size, plain appearance and terrestrial habits. The only red-breasted woodpecker in southern Africa, but red coloration often less bold, less extensive than illustrated. Female lacks russet malar streak. Immature is duller than adult, underparts with little red. Has a loud, harsh call ‘kee-urrr, kee-urrr, kee-urrr’. Found in hilly, rock-strewn grassland, mountain slopes and dry gullies. Feeds entirely on the ground among rocks, singly or in small parties, often perching on a prominent rock or roadside fence post. Nesting holes excavated in earth banks or erosion gullies.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Small, robust birds with straight, pointed bills, stiff tails and zygodactylous feet (the inner and outer toes are directed backward and the two central toes forward). They glean insects and their larvae from within crevices in trees and from beneath bark by tapping with their bills to loosen or chip the wood and inserting their long sticky tongues. While feeding, they use the tail as a prop. They normally occur in pairs and excavate holes in trees for nesting, these frequently being used in turn by other hole-nesting species. Many woodpeckers are very similar in appearance. They are best identified by head and breast markings plus call. The aberrant Ground Woodpecker is entirely terrestrial and nests in holes in banks.